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Republicans running in the 5th District for U.S. House of Representatives gave their pitches to voters.
Patrick Haake, Ralph Sheffield, Ron Shawd, Jerry Fowler and Jacob Turk will battle at Tuesday’s primary. On Nov. 2, the winner will face U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, currently representing the district, and Constitution Party candidate Dave Lay, Blue Springs, and Libertarian Party candidate Randy Langkraehr, 49, Warrensburg.
Haake, 31, Kansas City, said he is running a “very grassroots campaign” by knocking on many doors and talking with people about their concerns.
Job creation is a major issue that is on minds of many folks he has chatted with.
“Where are the jobs at?” Haake said.
Districtwide job growth happens by gathering experts from the private and public sector to discuss ways to lure businesses into the area, he said.
Also, Haake, if elected to Congress, will represent the entire district rather than a select few.
“In my opinion...his (Cleaver) politics are more for the inner city,” Haake said. “I think the former mayor’s focus has always been toward the inner city and the urban core.”
Sheffield, 72, Kansas City, says deep political ideology runs amuck in Washington.
People voted Democrats into office but now have seen them push their liberal ideology, Sheffield said.
“The public has seen they’ve gone too far,” Sheffield said. “The ship of state has gone adrift to the left. So they vote them out of office and put the other side into power. Then they will rip things out and change things. The taxpayers have to pay for all these changes.”
Sheffield proposes to keep things balanced. “More wisdom and less partisanship,” he added.
Ron Shawd, 56, Lee’s Summit, says he’s been in the business world since he was 18-years-old. He’s started and operated several businesses in the last 35 years.
“You have to have a business background,” Shawd said, “Government is the biggest business there is. But there’s nobody in there right now who understands that.”
He’s tired of ministers and lawyers “running our government,” according to his website.
Now is a perfect time to pick a candidate who can defeat Cleaver because of the vulnerability of incumbent Democrats, he said.
Shawd would stop the massive spending.
“You have to stop spending and read the bills,” Shawd said. “Spend on what’s absolutely necessary and nothing else.”
Jerry Fowler, 53, said he’s repeatedly called representatives about issues but nothing has changed. That’s one of the reasons he is running.
Republicans running in the 5th District for U.S. House of Representatives gave their pitches to voters.
Patrick Haake, Ralph Sheffield, Ron Shawd, Jerry Fowler and Jacob Turk will battle at Tuesday’s primary. On Nov. 2, the winner will face U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, currently representing the district, and Constitution Party candidate Dave Lay, Blue Springs, and Libertarian Party candidate Randy Langkraehr, 49, Warrensburg.
Haake, 31, Kansas City, said he is running a “very grassroots campaign” by knocking on many doors and talking with people about their concerns.
Job creation is a major issue that is on minds of many folks he has chatted with.
“Where are the jobs at?” Haake said.
Districtwide job growth happens by gathering experts from the private and public sector to discuss ways to lure businesses into the area, he said.
Also, Haake, if elected to Congress, will represent the entire district rather than a select few.
“In my opinion...his (Cleaver) politics are more for the inner city,” Haake said. “I think the former mayor’s focus has always been toward the inner city and the urban core.”
Sheffield, 72, Kansas City, says deep political ideology runs amuck in Washington.
People voted Democrats into office but now have seen them push their liberal ideology, Sheffield said.
“The public has seen they’ve gone too far,” Sheffield said. “The ship of state has gone adrift to the left. So they vote them out of office and put the other side into power. Then they will rip things out and change things. The taxpayers have to pay for all these changes.”
Sheffield proposes to keep things balanced. “More wisdom and less partisanship,” he added.
Ron Shawd, 56, Lee’s Summit, says he’s been in the business world since he was 18-years-old. He’s started and operated several businesses in the last 35 years.
“You have to have a business background,” Shawd said, “Government is the biggest business there is. But there’s nobody in there right now who understands that.”
He’s tired of ministers and lawyers “running our government,” according to his website.
Now is a perfect time to pick a candidate who can defeat Cleaver because of the vulnerability of incumbent Democrats, he said.
Shawd would stop the massive spending.
“You have to stop spending and read the bills,” Shawd said. “Spend on what’s absolutely necessary and nothing else.”
Jerry Fowler, 53, said he’s repeatedly called representatives about issues but nothing has changed. That’s one of the reasons he is running.
“I think the country is headed in exactly the wrong direction,” Fowler said. “I’m seriously concerned about the direction of the country.”
He’s concerned about the government going into further debt and the high level of unemployment.
“I feel as a Christian father of 11 children that part of my duty is to provide and protect for them,” Fowler, of Richmond, said. “Being elected to office and trying to make these changes are going to take this massive debt burden off my children and their children.”
Turk, 54, Lee’s Summit, could not be reached for comment for this story. Turk won this primary in 2006 and 2008, losing to Cleaver each time in the general election. The other four candidates, Haake, Fowler, Sheffield and Shawd, have never ran for public office.
The fifth district includes Kansas City, south of the river, most of Independence, Raytown, Lee’s Summit and Cass County.
Online:
- Patrick Haake: www.patrickhaake.com
- Ron Shawd: http://shawdron.sitebuilder.completecampaigns.com
- Jerry Fowler: www.jerryfowlerforcongress.com
- Ralph Sheffield: www.brighthorizon.us
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Jacob Turk: www.turkforcongress.org
